Colorado Charter School Institute
1600 N Broadway, Ste. 1250, Denver, CO 80202
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COVID-19: Updates & Guidance |
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September 11, 2020
Dear School Leaders,
The next Weekly School Leaders Call will take place on Monday, September 14 at 1:00pm. Materials from previous calls can be found within the Latest Guidance Google Doc linked on the Coronavirus Updates webpage.
This newsletter includes information on:
- RISE Education Fund
- T-Mobile Hotspots
- CSI Mill Levy Override Equalization Update
- Back to School Immunization Toolkit
- Guidance on Repurposing Spaces
- Performing Arts Guidance
- CPI Training Opportunities
- Alt Fuels Colorado - Settlement Funding Program
- and more!
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Weekly Update Calls for School Leaders |
Calls for school leaders will take place every Monday in September (excluding Labor Day) from 1:00pm-2:00pm. The next call will take place on Monday, September 14. The call-in information will be the same for each call:
Meeting ID: 867 9596 7474
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,86795967474# US (Tacoma)
+13462487799,,86795967474# US (Houston)
Materials referenced on the call will be posted in the "Weekly Update Call Materials" section of the Coronavirus Updates Google Doc.
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CSI School Support Contacts |
Every CSI school has been assigned a CSI Support Contact. Please notify your support contact if you have a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case, quarantine a cohort, or have a school closure. Click here for a list of support contacts including mobile phone numbers.
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Governor Polis Launches $32 Million RISE Education Fund |
Governor Jared Polis launched the $32.7 million Response, Innovation, and Student Equity Education (RISE) fund to support high-needs school districts, charter schools, and public institutions of higher education in creating sustainable innovations to improve student learning, close equity gaps, and enhance operational efficiency for pre-K-12 through higher education.
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Governor Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser and Commissioner Katy Anthes announced that T-Mobile, as part of its Project 10Million, will provide up to 34,000 low-income student households in Colorado with a free WiFi hotspot and 100GB of data per year for free. Please see below for actions all charter schools should follow to be included in this opportunity:
- Enter the administrator contact information.
- Under “School District Information”, provide information about your charter school (or charter network)
- Under “School District Name” enter “Colorado Charter School.” The field will not auto-populate, but it will still save your entry.
- Under “School District ID”, once you enter “Colorado Charter School” as a name, it should prevent you from entering an ID.
- Complete the student information section based on information about your charter school or charter network (note: “NSLP” stands for National School Lunch Program).
Please complete this form as soon as possible. Contact CDE’s Schools of Choice Office or T-Mobile (Paul Deaux at paul.deaux@t-mobile.com) with any questions.
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Mill Levy Override Equalization (MLOE) Update |
CSI has collaborated with our education partners, CDE, and the Governor’s Office over the last several months to gauge the feasibility of a request to increase the CSI Mill Levy Override Equalization for FY 2021-22. Throughout that process, we have learned that due to the unprecedented economic uncertainty that still remains, K-12 education funding may be reduced and all state departments have been tasked with a 10% budget reduction. While we hold achieving equal access to public funding for our schools as one of our highest priorities, in the face of such a stark financial landscape, we acknowledge that a request to increase the CSI MLOE Fund at this time would not be well received and would likely be unsuccessful. To that end, we have withdrawn our request for increased funding, and instead, we will focus our efforts on fostering goodwill with our education partners and key decision makers to protect the current CSI MLOE funding in a year of significant reductions.
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Back to School Immunization Toolkit |
The Colorado Department of Public Health has published a Back To School Immunization Toolkit that contains information and messaging to share with your school community towards the effort to keep children up-to-date on their vaccine schedule, which is critically important during this global pandemic.
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New Guidance on Repurposing Spaces in Light of COVID |
The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control released this guidance on changes made to spaces and rooms within school buildings to separate class cohorts. According to the guidance, “whenever a space, room, or area is repurposed or separations are constructed, even if these changes are only meant to be temporary, the school must apply for a building permit and potentially an applicable fire code permit, through which it will be confirmed that the adopted codes, which provide a minimum standard for achieving life safety in the built environment, are being met.”
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CDE and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment have partnered to provide performing arts guidance for K-12 schools. The updated information is part of the CDE 2020-21 Planning Framework and Toolkit and located within the "Encourage Safe Physical Distancing During Activities and Limit Sharing" section. This guidance addresses choir, chorus, band and indoor athletic pursuits, whether artistic or competitive.
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CPI Training Opportunities |
As many of you are aware, CSI has been sponsoring Non-violent Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) training for the past several years at no cost to our schools and we plan to continue to do so this year.
However, due to the COVID pandemic, we have encountered some challenges with providing the physical restraint portion of the training which is a requirement for the Initial Certification. We are offering an ONLINE CPI training for those who are needing to renew their current CPI Certification. This training will consist of an online independent study/review as well as a Live Session on September 28.
Please register by Wednesday, September 16. Note the registration will confirm whether you are needing the Renewal Certification or Initial Certification training. Based on the survey results, we will be looking at creating training opportunities to meet the overall needs. Once we have collected the survey responses, an email confirmation will be sent to you with further instructions.
Please share this training opportunity with your staff and feel free to reach out to Matt Hudson if you have further questions.
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Alt Fuels Colorado – Settlement Funding Program |
The ALT Fuels Colorado program will use this funding to incentivize the replacement and scrappage of fully electric or renewable natural gas (RNG) powered Class 8 Local Freight Trucks (Heavy-Duty), Class 4-7 Local Freight Trucks (Medium-Duty), Class 4-8 School and Shuttle Buses, railroad freight switchers, airport ground support equipment, heavy forklifts and port cargo handling equipment. Additional funding is available for associated electric vehicle charging stations (level II and III only) used to power this equipment.
The two month long application window is intended to give fleets ample opportunity to identify their vehicle needs, explore electric or RNG vehicle options, thoroughly review the ALT Fuels Colorado program guide, and assess their budgets for 2021 and beyond.
Updates to the ALT Fuels Colorado program guide are currently being made and will be available for review no later than October 1, 2020. Fleets are welcome to review the version listed on our website currently, with the understanding that some program elements will change.
Application Window Open Monday, November 2, 2020 – Thursday, December 31, 2020
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A reminder to please complete this survey regarding your personal protective equipment (PPE) needs so that CSI can gather information to potentially assist with supply chains. If your PPE needs have changed, feel free to take the survey again even if you have already filled it out. Amanda Karger has setup a PPE pipeline and will be sending paperwork to schools who are interested and have replied with a need on the survey.
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P-EBT is LIVE: Deadline September 23 |
P-EBT is live. This is a one-time transfer payment to families with students that participate in the National School Lunch Program. Families will receive up to $279 per student for groceries. Everyone that qualified for Free and Reduced meals in the 19-20 school year are eligible. If a family already received SNAP benefits the money was loaded onto their card automatically. If a family did not qualify for SNAP, but did qualify for Free and Reduced meals have them fill out this EASY online application: ColoradoPeak.force.com/PEBT by September 23. The family will need their child’s SASID to apply. Once their application is approved a card will be mailed to the family.
Please use provided P-EBT outreach materials in many languages to encourage your families to apply by the September 23 deadline.
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Summer Food Service Program Update |
The USDA announced that the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) can be operated when school is in session. School Food Authorities (SFAs) and nonprofit organizations now have the option to operate the SFSP during the fall months while school instruction takes place, whether that’s remote or in-person learning. The USDA is also extending several flexibilities for the SFSP. These flexibilities mean:
- Sponsors can serve free meals to all children through the fall months
- Meals can be provided in areas that don’t meet the 50% area eligibility
- Meals can be served outside of group settings and meal times (e.g. grab-and-go meals, multiple meals)
- SFSP meal patterns may be followed and sponsors can apply for meal pattern waivers when necessary
- Parents and guardians can pick up meals for their children
This allows SFAs and nonprofit organizations the flexibility to reach children who rely on free and reduced-price school meals while sponsors adjust meal service operations to align with various learning models. Based on current nationwide data, the USDA projects that these flexibilities will be in place through the end of 2020, contingent on funding.
More information including specific waiver guidance will be shared as updates are available. In the meantime, sponsors can start tracking meals served at each meal site and do not need to track meals served by student eligibility. Sponsors should not enter claims under National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) until further notice.
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NAEHCY Virtual Conference Scholarships |
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ASSET Education trains and equips educators with concrete tools to help their students reduce stress and build resilience. CSI educators will be trained in the ASSET curriculum on Saturday, September 12 from 9:00am-11:00am. CSI educators will:
- understand the philosophy and structure of the ASSET curriculum
- experience several ASSET tools
- reflect on how they'd like to use that curriculum
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Return to School Virtual PD Series |
CDE and the Beyond Consequences Institute are partnering to offer three virtual training sessions with Heather T. Forbes, LCSW. Sessions include: Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Your Students and Classroom180 Framework with "Pandemic Possible" Strategies. Click here to learn more.
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